Sometimes when I read Scripture, it is easy to become depressed. You know, “Do this.” “Don’t do that.” It can feel like rules piling up on top of me, suffocating the life out of me if I let them.

This passage in Peter can be like that. I’m not humble. I am rarely sober-minded. I’m not nearly watchful enough. I certainly don’t resist the devil enough. I’m a failure.

Two truths rescue me.

First, God does not give us rules to suffocate us. He knows what’s best. He is not out to squelch our fun. Instead, He wants us to have life to its fullest. The rules help us to truly live the way we were designed by God to live. They aren’t a hindrance; they are a help.

Second, Jesus died on the cross for failures like me. And, might I add, also for a failure like you. We must remember, “if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 2:21). Though we miss the mark over and over, in God’s sight we are holy and righteous because of what Christ has done.